Gibbon from La Palmyre Zoo in Black and White

in Nature-photography by Jamie HIBBERT — June 18, 2010 at 8:00 am | 0 comments

Gibbon in Black and White

As photographers we use light to paint the final image, yet sometimes we have too much light to capture the photograph we intend to present. Not often for my Cornwall Photography sessions, but still an issue.

I guess we get into a position where as a photographer you want the sharpest image, yet sometime you have to much light entering the lens. This happens when either:

• You want to use a small f number to throw out focus, or
• You want to slow time down to capture movement.

The latter was the issue here. Slowing time creates an important dimension in this photograph. It gives the image a sense of purpose with the movement captured by the hand of the Gibbon, showing the animal in some context, despite the scene being almost devoid of reference points.

The solutions are simple. One requires you to have a filter to hand reducing the amount of light being shown to the sensor, the other means using the cameras technology to reduce the effect of light on the picture, using ISO.

Filters effect the light seen by the camera. Some improve colour in differing areas of the spectrum, others prevent light in differing quantities entering the lens, allowing slower shutter speeds to be effective in bright light conditions.

Once you start tweaking ISO away from the basic setting of 200 – 800 you start to really trade off quality. You have to balance this trade with your abilities to enhance and tweak images in software, with your creative requirements. The beauty with ISO is you have it wherever your camera goes…. If you forget your filters!!